Demand for separation of Barak Valley from Assam is in full swing
The removal of Assamese slogans from the hoardings of the Jal Jeevan Mission in the Bengali-dominated Barak Valley has led to calls for the partition of Assam.
The miscreants had put up some black hoardings over the past few days to protest the “imposition” of the Assamese language in the Barak Valley, where Bengali is the official language. The valley includes the Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj districts of southern Assam.
Several Brahmaputra Valley-based organizations, including the All Assam Students’ Union, saw the distorting of the hoardings as an insult to the Assamese language and people. Their demand for action against the miscreants led the police to arrest two people. Both are out on bail.
Leading the call for separation of Barak Valley from Assam, Assamese litterateur Nagen Saikia said that partition would go a long way in maintaining peace and tranquility in the state.
“Granting statehood to Barak Valley will put an end to language-based conflicts. The state government should take up the issue of partition with the people of both the valleys,” said Mr Saikia, former president of the influential Assam Sahitya Sabha.
In the Barak Valley, organizations such as the Barak Democratic Front and the All Bengali Youth and Students Organization protested against the use of the Assamese language in hoardings.
Front convener Pradip Dutta Roy said Bengali was made the official language of Barak Valley after the 1961 language movement, which claimed 11 lives in police firing. “The use of Assamese in the hoardings is in violation of the provisions of the Languages Act,” he said.
Demand for separation of Barak Valley from Assam is in full swing
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